Method for simultaneously hand-painting a plurality of pictures



' A ril 24, 1962 R. FERRARI 3,030,721

METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY HAND-PAINTING A PLURALITY OF PICTURES FiledJuly 6, 1959 @215 2. W INVENTOR.

6 FEDEQ/CO FERAAE/ 7 a 9 BY 3,030,721 METHOD FOR SIB IULTANEOUSLYHAND-P- ING A PLURALITY (3F PICTURES Federico Ferrari, 5038 CloverlyAve., Temple City, Calif. Filed July 6, 1959, Ser. No. 825,245 4 Claims.on. 41-26) This invention relates to a method that, while a singlepicture is being hand-painted, produces two or more substantiallysimilar pictures.

An object of the present invention is to provide an extremely economicalmethod for production of a plurality of hand-painted pictures at littlemore than the cost, particularly in the time of the artist, of paintingone picture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method as abovecontemplated by means of which an artist, while painting a picture,simultaneously paints one or more duplicates.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method that mayadvantageously be applied to billboard painting, the duplicates producedduring painting of a billboard being flexible and adapted, when dried,to be rolled up for easy transportation to the site of and applicationupon other and remotely situated billboards, thereby enabling thepainting of a plurality of billboards remote one from the other at butlittle more than the cost of painting one billboard.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a method in whicha billboard is painted with a picture while simultaneously producing oneor more duplicate pictures on screens mounted on said board and then,

while the paint on said screen or screens is still wet, effecting atransfer of 'said paint and, as a consequence, thepicture'to otherbillboards.

My invention also has for its objects to provide novel steps that areconvenient and facile, simple, economical, and of superiorserviceability.

The accompanying drawing is used as a basis for the followingdescription of the present method, the same being given as by way ofexample.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts in theseveral views.

FIG. 1 is a broken front elevational View of a billboard preparedaccording to the present invention and handpainted to provide aplurality of pictures.

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged and detailed cross-sectional view of thebillboard shown in FIG. 1.

The term hand-painted, as used in this disclosure and the appendedclaims, is intended to include any manual method of applying pigment orpaint to a surface. The term contemplates roller application of paintand spraying, as well as brush painting, and is intended todifferentiate only over imprinting, as on presses, offset, lithography,etc., whereby mechanical duplication rather than hand-paintedduplication is the result.

In the drawing, the board 5 may'vary greatly in size and may extendtwenty, thirty, or more feet, as is the nature of billboards. Inpractice, such a board is erected in a studio where an artist or artistsmay paint the sur-' face thereof. Usually being sectional, the paintedboard may then be transported, in sections, to the site of display, andthere erected for public viewing. Heretofore,'

one such board was produced at one time and if others were needed fordisplay at other sites, the process was repeated, at the same cost asthe first. In other words, each billboard so produced was an independentitem and the production cost of one was separate from the cost of theothers.

According to the present novel method, an artist, while painting apicture on the board 5, is simultaneously painting one or more duplicatepictures which may be used on other billboards.

3,030,721 Patented Apr. 24, 1962 In order to do this, one preferredprocedure is as follows:

The outer surface of the board 5 is first primed to render the samenon-absorbent or impervious to the penetration of paint. The surface sotreated will cause paint applied thereto to reside on the outside, and afilm of such paint will retain the thickness at which appliedrather thanbeing soaked up into the board. Such a primer may advantageouslycomprise a white oil-base paint. After the primer is allowed to dry, thesurface thereof is sized as by a mixture of shellac and powderedtitanium to provide a preferably white coating. It is this size coatingthat provides the surface upon which the adhesive 6 is applied.

The adhesive 6 comprises a coating that is applied to the primed andsized board, the same being provided for the purpose of retaining inposition on the board either a screen 7 or screens 7 and 8 superimposedon each other substantially as shown in FIG. 2. The adhesive 6preferably comprises a stearate paste made with lithium and may betermed lithium stearate. The same is thinned with raw oil, such aslinseed or poppy seed oil and may be applied by brush or spray to coatthe board with a screen-adhering coating. Alumina stearate may be usedinstead of lithium stearate. Also, aluminum sulfate (alum) or aluminumhydrate may be used. As an alternative, any of these stearates, sulfatesor hydrates may be thinned with raw or boiled oil or with varnish. Oilvarnish will thin out the mixture and induces rapid drying. Y

Boiled oil will cause more rapid drying of the coat 6 than will raw oil,but the varnish will render the drying more rapid regardless which oilis used.

Thus, the drying rate can be controlled to insure retention of anon-hardened condition of the coat during painting of the picture 8 byan application of differently pigmented paints that covers the screens 7and 8 (if two screens are used), as Well as the board 5. At any rate,the drying is quite slow and may be fixed to stretch over a period ofseveral hours or even several days, depending on the painting time ofthe picture 9. The stearate, sulfate or hydrate above described areadhesive for the present purposes, and the drying time thereof iscontrolled by the oil or varnish thinner with which intermixed. Theproportion of adhesive and thinner is not critical except for suchdrying timing and may vary greatly, as desired. It is important that theadhesive hold a screen or screens firmly in place on the board 5 andthat the same remain so soft as to allow the screens to be readilypeeled off after the painting is completed.

After the screen 7 or screens 7 and 8 are mounted on the board 5, thepicture 9 is painted in the usual Way with pure oil pigment. When sopainting, the pigment Will be rendered soft while being applied by thestearates, sulfates and hydrates of the adhesive coat 6 and will allow afacile brushing on of color to provide the picture 9. However, if thepigment will not flow as desired, small amounts of an extender may beused, the same comprising an oil or any of the paste stearates mentionedabove. The pure oil paint is rendered more flowable by such addition ofpaste if the stearate already in the adhesive 6 is not sufficient toprovide desired flowability. If one screen is used, the same ispreferably fine-meshed in the nature of 200 mesh; and if two screens areapplied; as illustrated, the same are coarser mesh, about mesh. Silkscreen is preferred because of the stability of the fibers thereof andalso because of the ability of these fibers to absorb paint. However,nylon'screen or other screens of suitable absorbent fibers will causethe applied paint to be, in part, intercepted by the outer screen 8 inpart, by the screen 7 therebeneath; and in part, cover the primed andsized surface of the billboard 5. Except that dyes may be substitutedfor oil paints, the application of such paints on the screen-providedboard 5 will produce substantially the same painting on the board and oneach of the two screens. In practice, it has been found that oil paintsare somewhat more stable in this connection than are dyes.

Now, since the screens 7 and 8 may be each separately peeled off, thesame constitute independent paintings. The same are then dried eithernaturally or with the aid of heat, and when the paint 9 thereon hasthoroughly dried, a flexible painting is the result. The same canwithstand hard handling and can be shipped or transported rolled upwithout damage.

On a board similar to board 5, one of the painted screens 7 or 8 may beapplied. Since, ordinarily, the board and screens are quite large, it ispreferred that the screen be placed on the board in the desired positionthereof and tacked down, as by adhesive strips, so as to hold the samein such position while adjustment thereof is made to square and alignthe length and width thereof with the board. A clear varnish ortransparent glue may be applied to the tacked-down screen to cause thesame to adhere in fiatwise condition to the surface of the board. Saidvarnish or glue is preferably waterproof so the same may not wash off.Since the varnish or glue covers the screen, the same preserves thepaint on the screen against the elements. As an alternative, the surfaceof the board may first be provided with a clear varnish or transparentglue as above and the screen applied thereupon. The difliculty ofproperly aligning the screen with the board may not be too great if theboard is vertical or nearly vertical, and this alternative method ofapplication may be resorted to. In such case, a covering coat of clearvarnish may be applied for the purpose of preserving the paint on thescreen as before indicated. In this manner, a painting, originallypainted on one board, may be applied to another remotely situated boardat a low cost compared to the cost of the original painting.

Since the color of the paint is through the interstices of the screens,the same may be applied in a reversed manner, if desired.

The painting that remains on the board may be varnish-coated to improveweather resistance.

Another preferred form of the invention may be practiced as follows: Thescreen or screens 7 and 8' are mounted on a billboard 5 and a picture 9'painted as above described. Before the picture is completed, anotherbillboard (for each screen used) is prepared by varnish-coating the samewith a varnish that contains a drying in hibiter to keep the surfacethus provided wet, or at least tacky. The mentioned sizing 6 may beused. Said coating provides not only a paint-receptive surface, but alsoone that is substantially non-porous.

Now, after the screens 7 and 8 are peeled off the board 5, as before,instead of allowing the paint thereon to dry, the same are eachseparately placed on a varnish-coated board. The wet paint, togetherwith whatever adhesive effect is produced by the varnish coating, causesthe painted screen to adhere to the board. Compressed air may then beused to force the paint on the screens, through the interstices thereofand onto the varnish-coated surface on which the screen is applied. Thescreen is then peeled off.

While not all of the paint on the screen will thus be transferred to theboard, the resultant picture on the board will, nevertheless, constitutea closely similar one to the picture on the board 5 and, at most, mayrequire a little touch-up to bring forth the full detail of theoriginally-painted picture.

Thus, if one screen is used, a second painting on a second billboard,with the screen, is produced; and, if two screens are used, twoadditional painted billboards, without screens, are produced.

After the'screens are removed, as above, they will contain some residualpaint. By washing them in a paint-removing solution, such as is commonin the trade, the screens may be thoroughly cleaned for re-use.

The line 10 in the drawing represents a seam between edge-abuttedscreens. Since screens are Woven in maximum widths, say fifty inches, alarge billboard can be covered by screens only in strips, as shown.Ordinarily, these lines or seams cannot be seen nor, for that matter,can the mesh of the screens, except under the closest scrutiny. Ofcourse, the seams or lines 10 are quite invisible, if the paint on thescreen is transferred to a second board. Also, the weave or mesh designof the screen becomes lost as paint blends together on the varnishedsurface The painting that is transferred from a scrwn may bevarnish-coated to provide weather resistance, as before.

Instead of providing a board with a coat of varnish or glue before ascreen, painted according to the present method, is applied on saidboard, as hereinbefore described, the board may be dry while the paintedscreen is placed thereon and the varnish or glue applied to the screenand board simultaneously.

It will be realized that the pencil cartoon or drawing, that isordinarily used as a guide for the artist, may be drawn on the board 5before the size coating is applied. Since this coating is transparent,whether applied directly to the board alone or to the screens as well,the pattern, cartoon or drawing remains visible as a guide to the artistafter the sizing coating or coatings are applied and allowed to dry.

In practice, the board 5 is quite large, usually being many feet highand many feet wide. Such large boards can be conveniently primed, coatedand painted only when in a vertical or a near vertical position. Sincethe screen-provided board, when painted, must be provided with thickapplications of paint to provide sufficient paint for the board and thescreen or screens, there may be a tendency for such paint to rungravitationally and destroy the accuracy or detail of the painting. Itis the stearate paste in the adhesive that holds the screens in positionon the board that counteracts such sag in the paint and preserves theaccuracy of the picture.

While the present method is described with respect to the simultaneousproduction of two or three similar paintings, by using a third screen, afourth painting can be made in this manner. It becomes a question ofpaint or dye penetration through the screen interstices whethersatisfactory paintings may be achieved with more than two screens. If acertain amount of retouching to emphasize accents and color intensitymay be done economically, three or even four screens may be used in themanner hereinabove described. Even with extensive retouching,considerable economy of production is had.

While I have described what I now regard to be the preferred manners ofcarrying out the present method, the same are, of course, subject tomodification without departing from the spirit and scope of myinvention. Therefore, I do not wish to restrict myself to the particularmethod steps disclosed, but desire to avail myself of all modificationsthat may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed and desired to besecured by Letters Patent is:

l. A method of creating a display in colors on a backing board andsimultaneously reproducing said display on a flexible screen for removaltherefrom and for application to a second backing board, which methodconsists in treating the surface of the first backing board to which thedisplay is to be applied to render same impervious to moisture, applyinga coat of slow drying adhesive to the treated surface of the board,wherein said adhesive contains a thinner and a member of the groupconsisting of a metal stearate, a metal sulfate or a metal hydrate, theadhesive having a drying period approximately the length of timerequired for the creation of the display, applying to the coated boardand securing same by said slow drying adhesive a screen formed of astable absorbent fiber having a mesh sufficient to permit thepenetration of portions of the colored material therethrough to thebacking board to apply to the latter the same colored display as appliedto the screen, applying a colored coating to the mesh in a predetermineddesign and in sufiicient quantity and pressure to cause the same toadhere to the screen and to penetrate the same for reproducing thecolored design on the screen and backing board, removing the screenbearing its display from the backing board While in its moist state andbefore the adhesive on the backing board and the color display dries,drying the removed screen and its display, and applying the screen withits display to the second backing board by an adhesive.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1 characterized in that the firstbacking board is coated with an adhesive mixed with an inhibitor toretard its drying action and a plurality of screens are superimposedupon the board, the screens being formed of a stable absorbent fiber ofapproximately 200 mesh to permit the penetration of portions of thecoating material through the screens and onto the backing board, and acolored coating is applied to the outer screen in a predetermined designin suflicient quantity and pressure to cause the same to adhere to allof the screens and to penetrate the same for reproducing the coloreddesign on the screens and on the backing board, and removing the screensbearing the colored display from the backing board and applying the sameto other backing boards for reproducing the display.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1 characterized in that theadhesive is in the form of a stearate paste thinned with oil and thescreen which is formed of a stable absorbent fiber is in the nature of200 mesh.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1 characterized in that theadhesive is in the form of a stearate paste thinned with oil varnish.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,323,620 De Leeuw Dec. 2, 1919 1,433,203 Halpern Oct. 24, 19221,987,593 Burgdorfer et a1 Jan. 15, 1935 2,098,118 Wheelwright Nov. 2,1937 2,122,043 Pollard June 28, 1938 2,692,553 Metzner Oct. 26, 1954

